CONFERENCE

| CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Introduction

GDC Europe 2012 is the premiere professional conference for the creators of video games within the European community. If you share our passion and commitment for video games, we want to hear from you. GDC Europe is now soliciting session proposals from potential speakers with deep industry expertise and a fresh and unique perspective on the state of the industry.

GDC Europe 2012 Call for Submissions is now closed.

Submission Guidelines

If you want to submit, please take note of the following:

Vendor Specific Proposals
The Game Developers Conference does not accept product or vendor-related submissions. If your talk is a thinly-veiled advertisement for a new product, technology or service your company is offering, please do not apply. If you would like to publicize a product, please contact our sales team for information on exhibiting and other vendor opportunities, including sponsored sessions.

All presentations must be submitted by the original authors
We currently only accept submissions by original authors of the presentations. PR firms, speaking relation firms, and all other parties who are not direct authors of submitted presentations are discouraged from submitting a proposal on behalf of their clients/speakers. We require direct contact with presenters to expedite questions during the submission review process.

Submission Deadline

The deadline to submit a speaker session to GDC Europe is Monday, April 23 at 23:59 PST.

Speaker Expectations

Preparation is one of the most important factors in delivering a successful talk at the GDC Europe. Please keep the following points in mind when you propose to speak:

The proposed outline you submit now must match the talk you actually present at GDC
We suggest that you commit AT LEAST 20 hours to prepare for your session
We strongly encourage that you rehearse the delivery of your session for it to be effective; preferably in front of your peers (one tip is to video record yourself speaking then review it. This is also a great way to practice pacing and timing)
Your presentation materials must be completed and submitted to us for review and approval before the conference

Tracks & Summits

Below are the tracks and summits that will be presented at GDC Europe 2012

Business, Marketing & Management

The Business, Marketing & Management Track seeks to educate and inform developers about the business of game development and ways in which their business can be improved.

Game Design

Creating compelling, immersive games requires understanding, visualizing, demonstrating, and tuning the interactions of an ever-increasing number of game tools and systems. While game designers need to understand and exploit the possibilities of new technologies such as realistic physics, facial expressions, and lighting techniques; they must also continue to master the traditional disciplines of drama, game play, and psychology.

The Game Design Track explores the challenges and ramifications of the interaction between new technologies and established techniques.

Production

In recent years, game industry production challenges have been split between massive budgets for AAA console games, and significant new production challenges from social, online, smartphone and other emerging types of games. The goal of the Production Track is to provide developers with concrete tactics for managing game production, no matter the size or scope of your game.

Programming

As new platforms emerge and existing platforms evolve, programmers face an ever increasing challenge to produce games that capture the attention of the public and the media. The Programming Track focuses on these challenges and the opportunities presented by next and current generation development including: mature consoles, new handhelds, a highly competitive sales environment, and increased demand for very high production values in games.

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts Track strives to educate artists and technical artists about methods for producing game art and animations; from stellar concept art techniques to post production best practices. Our focus for GDC Europe 2012 is how to produce exceptional art while reducing costs.

Independent Games Summit

The Independent Games Summit represents the voice of the independent game developer at GDC Europe. It features lectures, postmortems and roundtables from some of the most notable independent game creators, including many former and current Independent Games Festival finalists and winners. The 2012 Independent Games Summit seeks to highlight the brightest and the best of indie development, with discussions ranging from game design philosophy, distribution, business, marketing, and much more.

Social Games Summit

The market for interactive entertainment on social web platforms has matured rapidly, and now the features and tropes of connected gaming are catching on across the gaming landscape - encompassing Facebook gaming, web-based online games, downloadable persistent MMOs and beyond. New best practices are being discovered at a rapid pace, and we are seeing more high-quality entertainment experiences on social networks than ever before.

At the same time, the business landscape is shifting, and questions are buzzing in everyone's mind: what is the fate of Facebook-dependent shops? What does mobile mean to social gaming? Is there any life left in the old virtual world model? Do you have to go international to be successful? And are we back to "the old boss" of large marketing budgets and big IPs being necessary for success? The Social & Online Games Summit gathers the industry's established leaders and up-and-coming rebels for a series of illuminating sessions about technology, design, business, marketing, and the future of social games.

Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit

The Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit at GDC Europe 2012 brings together top game developers from around the world to share ideas, introduce best practices and discuss the future of gaming on established and emerging smartphone and tablet platforms, including iPhone/iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows 7 and more.

Session Formats

Lecture
Lectures are issue-oriented, provide concrete examples, and contain both practical and theoretical information. They are either 25 or 50 minutes long (including answering questions from the audience). We generally prefer only one speaker but we may accept two if you can demonstrate the second person is necessary.

Panel
Panels are 50 minutes, and take many different viewpoints on a topic or issue and combine them in one venue. Debate among panelists (with very different opinions) is most welcome and audience participation time should be accounted for. We prefer 50 minute time slots and panels of no more than 3-5 participants, including the moderator.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the submission deadline?

The submissions deadline for GDC Europe sessions is Monday, April 23 at 23:59 PST.

What are the tracks & topics?

Tracks

Business, Marketing & Management
Game Design
Production
Programming
Visual Arts

Summits

Independent Games Summit
Social Games Summit
Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit

What are the session formats?

GDC Europe sessions are either lectures (25 or 50 minute duration) or panels (50 minute duration). Learn more about session formats here

Lecture
Lectures are issue-oriented, provide concrete examples, and contain both practical and theoretical information. They are either 25 or 50 minutes long (including answering questions from the audience). We generally prefer only one speaker but we may accept two if you can demonstrate the second person is necessary.

Panel
Panels are 50 minutes, and take many different viewpoints on a topic or issue and combine them in one venue. Debate among panelists (with very different opinions) is most welcome and audience participation time should be accounted for. We prefer 50 minute time slots and panels of no more than 3-5 participants, including the moderator.

What do I need to provide in my submission?

Contact information
Please provide full contact information. The email address* for the speaker is mandatory.
*If you are a PR representative submitting on behalf of a client, you will need to provide the speaker's full contact information. You will also have the chance to provide your contact information in the PR representative field.
Speaker Biography
Tell us about your professional experience in the game industry, including game credits.
Session Title
Provide a session title in fewer than 16 words.
Track
Select one track; a secondary track is optional if your session topic overlaps in discipline.
Audience Level
Select one:
All: Open to all experience levels.
Intermediate: Targeting 4+ years of experience in the field.
Advanced: Targeting 8+ years experience in the field.
Theme
Select one:
Inspirational
Technical
Experimental
Session Description
In 100-words or less, provide a concise description of your session as you would have it appear on the GDC Europe website and in the show program.
Attendee Takeaway
In 50 words or less, tell us what new knowledge attendees will gain from this presentation. Be specific by giving concrete examples and remember that GDC attendees are experts in their field.
Intended Audience
In 50 words or less, describe your target audience and who will benefit from your presentation. Is prerequisite knowledge necessary for understanding the content of the session? If so, what are the prerequisites?
Session Focus/Extended Abstract
In 500 words or less, tell us what topic will be the main focus of your talk. Be specific. Do not tell us in vague terms what the presentation will be about; instead, detail exactly what it will cover and provide concrete examples, data, research, graphs, conclusions, etc. If this exceeds 500 words, you can prepare this information in a separate file (Word, .PDF, .TXT) and upload it to your submission.
Public Speaking History & Web Link(s)
Tell us about previous speaking engagements and the ratings you may have received. Also provide links to your company's website(s), personal blog(s), projects you're working on, etc., to support your proposal. Please do not offer links to news articles. Mark N/A if this is not applicable to you.
Uploading Supporting Materials
If you have supplemental materials to provide (such as a slide deck, images, demos, videos, audio samples, research papers, etc.), please tell us what these are in the textbox and upload to the submission form. GDC Europe 2012 Call for Submissions is now closed.

What makes a "good" submission?

Prepare a session proposal that describes the main focus of the presentation thoroughly and what the attendee takeaway is. The Submissions that are commercial or marketing in nature (i.e. about a company's proprietary product, technology, tools, etc.,) will not be considered. These type of proposals are a best fit in the sponsored session category.

Write your submission so that it is easily understood. The Advisory Board has to read several hundred submissions. Get to your point as quickly as possible. Consider what the proposal is about and why it's interesting. Consider why it's important to game development and what developers will get out of the session.

What does GDC Europe expect from its speakers?

Conference attendees are generally very intelligent. They are looking for material that is not obvious and expect excellence from our speakers. After your presentation, they will evaluate it based on the delivery, knowledge of the topic, and visuals presented.

Preparation is one of the most important factors in delivering a successful talk at the GDC Europe. Please keep the following points in mind when you propose to speak:

The proposed outline you submit now must match the talk you actually present at the conference
We suggest that you commit AT LEAST 20 hours to prepare for your presentation
We strongly encourage that you rehearse the delivery of your presentation, preferably in front of your peers (one tip is to video record yourself speaking then review it., this is also a great way to practice pacing and timing)
Your presentation materials must be completed and submitted to us for review and approval before the conference

What are the benefits of speaking?

The benefits of being a speaker include:

Complimentary registration
Speaker lunch
Your name and presentation featured in our conference program and website
A year subscription to the GDC Vault (video and audio recordings of all GDCs)
Access to all conference sessions, summits, and the expo floor

What criteria does the Advisory Board use when reviewing submissions?

The Advisory Board will review and rate submissions based on the criteria below:

Concept: This is the basic idea of your submission. Is it interesting? Is it relevant? Will it be beneficial for game developers to hear? There is plenty of room for innovative ideas and also the tried and true. Depth: Is the basic idea well considered and thought out? To what extent will the audience gain insight? The more in-depth, the better.
Organization: Are your ideas conducive to presentation in front of an audience? Will the Advisory Board understand what you are trying to say? Organization helps.
Credentials: How do your credentials qualify you to speak on the topic you have proposed?
Takeaway: Is the attendee going to leave this session knowing something they didn't already know? Are they learning or being inspired? This is the most important aspect of every GDC session.

The speaker selection process is made based on a composite rating drawn from the above criteria.

Who are the members of the advisory board?

The GDC Europe Advisory Board is comprised of industry veterans, bringing experience and fresh ideas across a spectrum of industry business and development areas. Check back for more information on the 2012 GDC Europe Advisory Board.

How do I propose a vendor-specific session?

We want our talks to be opportunities for professional game developers to share their ideas and experiences. Proposals that are commercial or marketing in nature will not be considered. In general, content specific to proprietary products and technologies is considered sponsored material. The Advisory Board and conference management reserve the right to exercise their editorial discretion. If you would like to publicize a product, please contact our sales team for information on exhibiting and other vendor opportunities, including sponsored sessions.

When will I be notified of the status of my submission?

You will receive an automated email response once your submission is received. We will notify you of the status of your submission in May.